Do attachments need to be protected from elements?

[Rail Dawg]

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

 

[Verticaltrx]

Ideally all equipment should be inside, but that isn't always practical. I would give priority to implements that have hydraulics or gear boxes as far as getting them inside. Something like a box blade is only going to suffer cosmetically from being out. Things with gear boxes can get water contamination, dried out seals, etc. Hydraulics aren't as bad, but the hoses can suffer from being out in the sun and water contamination could also be a problem in some systems. I try to keep all my stuff inside, but during the busy season when I'm using implements all the time I'll unhook them outside to make it easier to switch back and forth. Sometimes I'll let something sit outside a few weeks and don't lose sleep over it.

 

[gwdixon]

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

Anything with a gearbox gets covered around here. I do the whole implement but at least cover the gearbox area. The PTO shafts, if removable, are best stored out of the weather.

Box blades and other non-PTO stuff, can have the paint touched up and that should be enough. Paint is a great for weather proofing.

Fluid Film works very well on shiny non-painted surfaces like disc blades or plow shares.

Gearboxes can get water in them and the oil will get milky.

However, there are lots of implements that just sit out in the weather on farms and they work fine.

It probably depends on how much you care about how the equipment looks. If you take care of your tractor you likely take care of your equipment in the same manner.

 

[slowzuki]

Everything here stays outside in the snow and rain except: Haybaler and the disc mower. The haybaler does not like getting rusty, the discmower could stay out but it can't sit on grass without getting all rusted up so it goes on concrete.

I do have a brillion seeder now too that will go inside as the leftover seed will sprout and plug it up if it gets wet.

 

[hrcarver]

I try to keep things with an engine in a shed. The implements have their field. I do keep some of the more expensive implements like drills and planters in a shed, but the sheds usually stay full of tractors.

If you the have empty space, by all means use it, but 95% of implements will not be damaged from the weather.

 

[magicheater]

Ideally all equipment should be inside, but that isn't always practical. I would give priority to implements that have hydraulics or gear boxes as far as getting them inside. Something like a box blade is only going to suffer cosmetically from being out. Things with gear boxes can get water contamination, dried out seals, etc. Hydraulics aren't as bad, but the hoses can suffer from being out in the sun and water contamination could also be a problem in some systems. I try to keep all my stuff inside, but during the busy season when I'm using implements all the time I'll unhook them outside to make it easier to switch back and forth. Sometimes I'll let something sit outside a few weeks and don't lose sleep over it.

sound advice

Anything with a gearbox gets covered around here. I do the whole implement but at least cover the gearbox area. The PTO shafts, if removable, are best stored out of the weather.

Box blades and other non-PTO stuff, can have the paint touched up and that should be enough. Paint is a great for weather proofing.

Fluid Film works very well on shiny non-painted surfaces like disc blades or plow shares.

Gearboxes can get water in them and the oil will get milky.

However, there are lots of implements that just sit out in the weather on farms and they work fine.

It probably depends on how much you care about how the equipment looks. If you take care of your tractor you likely take care of your equipment in the same manner.

very true

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

sliding surfaces suffer without protection, paint fades w/o protection. Usability does not suffer but longevity may. Rust never sleeps...... and the time to compensate may become a bother.

 

[newbury]

As always there are a lot of tradeoffs involved. Money and time are usually two of the biggest. Ideally everything should be kept pristine new, but what are the results if they are not? I've a 1988 Ford Maxivan in Virginia, it got a paint chip down to the steel about the first year on a very visible place on top of the fender. I vowed to sand and spray paint AS SOON as the rust passed "surface rust". Where I came from in Northern Vermont that usually took about a year. It's still good, 20 plus years later.

I keep my tractor and implements in Virginia under shelter.

Now I'm down in Mississippi, here it seems they leave most everything out to rust. I guess it's their way of recycling. But I've lots of warehouse so I plan on keeping ALL implements out of the weather if they are not being used. Pole barns and tarps are cheaper than painting, rust removal, and implement replacement.

 

[JoeinTX]

"If you the have empty space, by all means use it, but 95% of implements will not be damaged from the weather."

Agree.

Go by any large farm today and you'll see equipment sitting stored outside. Equipment dealers, TSCs, etc., how many of them do you see with large covers over their equipment for sale?

Historically we've stored implements outside while tractors or combines stayed covered. Shredders, plows, sickle mowers, blades, dirt movers all stayed outside. Is it ideal? No. Limiting exposure to the elements is beneficial to the finish and "soft" parts of implements. Rubber, plastic, etc.

That said, we have a 50's vintage AC sickle bar mower that's spent it's entire life outside that is also 100% functional today. To my memory, the rubber belt has not been changed on it stretching back to the early 1980s.


Hey, if you've got the floor space to store your implements under cover, go for it. If not, don't sweat it. They'll be fine assuming you do normal maintenance and care and don't abuse them.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I use some small steel pallets to keep outside equipment off the dirt.

 

[buck12]

I keep tractor and all implements inside except my box blade. The box blade shows the signs of being stored outdoors but shop and shed space is at a premium. I also keep my 18' and 10' trailers outside. One day I hope to build a pole barn to at least have a roof over the trailers.